This invention relates to the art of socket wrenches and, more particularly, to an attachment for use with such wrenches for retaining a threaded fastener component in the wrench socket during screwing or unscrewing of the fastener component relative to a mating part.
It is of course well known that socket wrenches are comprised of an operating handle having a square shank on one end thereof to which various sizes of wrench sockets are detachably mounted to enable rotation of the wrench socket to achieve the screwing or unscrewing of a threaded fastener component such as a headed bolt or nut from its mating part. It is likewise well known that the operating handle often has a reversible, ratchet-type driving engagement with the square shank, and that the wrench socket may be interengaged with the shank through an extension rod having one end contoured to detachably interengage with the square shank and having a square shank on the opposite end thereof for detachably receiving the wrench socket. It is further well known that such detachable connections are achieved through a spring biased ball on the shank and a ball receiving recess in the wrench socket.
Frequently, the user of such a socket wrench must introduce or remove a threaded fastener component from an area which is not accessible to the user's hands or from an area which would be potentially dangerous if the user's hands were to come in contact therewith, such as a hot area in the engine compartment of an automobile. Efforts to introduce or remove a bolt or nut from such an inaccessible or potentially dangerous location can be very frustrating in that the user may not be able to position a finger or fingers of one hand at the location of the bolt or nut so as to maintain the latter in engagement with the socket. Accordingly, it becomes advantageous to capture the threaded fastener component relative to the wrench socket during application or withdrawal of the component from mating relationship with its companion part.
Previous efforts to provide for retention of a fastener component relative to a wrench socket during installation or removal of the fastener component have been disadvantageous for a number of reasons. For example, certain efforts have required at least a portion of the fastener retainer to occupy space within the wrench socket, and such either affects the dimensions within the socket relative to the size of the fastener component receivable therein and/or can interfere with and make difficult the introduction of the fastener component into the socket opening. The latter is especially true when attempting to introduce the socket over the head of a bolt or over a nut which is not visible to the user, thus requiring rotative manipulation of the socket relative to the fastener to achieve reception of the fastener component in the socket opening. Moreover, such previous retainers are subjected to sliding frictional interengagement with a fastener component each time the socket is used and, accordingly, are subjected to excessive wear which can quickly reduce the ability of the retainer to perform its function. Additionally, retainer attachments heretofore available often can be unintentionally displaced from the wrench socket during use. Moreover, such prior efforts have been expensive either as a result of requiring a specially constructed wrench socket or a complexly constructed attachment for the socket, and in necessitating a retainer for each and every different wrench socket size.